How might a widgetized homepage affect SEO?

[elenabrz]

Hi

I bought a genesis child theme. It's my first time using Genesis, and I chose it because of the great things I've read on Genesis and SEO. The child theme is from appfinite.com The theme has a widgetized homepage (everything on the homepage is added via widgets) and I wonder know: how much will that diminish the SEO power of Genesis framework? Because on that homepage, for google bot there will no text and thus no keyword density, headings...

Am I wrong? Is anyone using a theme with a widgetized homepage? How is SEO doing?

Thanks a lot!

PS: Sorry for my English, I'm not a native English speaker.

[David Chu]

Hi Elena,
Are you, by chance, from Brasil? If so, boa tarde!

That's an interesting question. I think you will still be just fine. I use a widgeted homepage, too, and I use header tags and other tags to help SEO in the widget itself.

For some Google code, you can go to Genesis... Theme Settings, and near the bottom there is a place for code such as Google tracking code.

If you go to Genesis... SEO settings, you will see some other helpful SEO things you can do.

And then on each Page/Post, there are lots of good SEO fields to use.

Maybe someone who is a full-time SEO might have more ideas. But to me, that's a good set-up for SEO, and I don't bother using SEO plugins with Genesis.

Tchau, Dave

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Dave Chu · Custom WordPress Developer – likes collaborating with Designers

[elenabrz]

Hi Dave

Thanks for your reply.

I know the Genesis SEO settings. But the homepage doesn't appear as a page. The developer has designed it in a way there's a php that loads the homepage with widgets, but no page as such has been created. So I really have serious doubts the SEO will work this way.

What do you think?

PS: I'm from Spain, so, buenas tardes 😉

[David Chu]

Hola Elena,
¡Que bueno, mi español es mejor que mi portugues! Y soy guitarrista flamenco. 🙂 ¿Si es tan amable, de que región es Vd.?

Claro que tiene razón... depende de lo que quiere para SEO en la homepage. I have a homepage that's also "not a page". I am using the Home Meta Description (Genesis SEO Settings... Homepage settings). I also use h1 and h2 tags in the widget that I'm using. Es suficiente para mi, funciona bastante bien.

You might be more of an SEO expert than I am, though. What are you looking for to be on the homepage for SEO?

Ciao, Dave

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Dave Chu · Custom WordPress Developer – likes collaborating with Designers

[Bill Murray]

@elenabrz - Your worries are unfounded, at least in the way you are asking your question.

I know the Genesis SEO settings. But the homepage doesn’t appear as a page. The developer has designed it in a way there’s a php that loads the homepage with widgets, but no page as such has been created. So I really have serious doubts the SEO will work this way.

If by "developer", you mean StudioPress, you're right that that is how it works. But that's how virtually all of WP works - it loads a page with PHP. Widgets give a user more immediate control over what content is returned, but the process of generating a page with PHP is the same.

To determine how a search engine sees your home page, log in to Google Webmaster Tools (GWT), and click on Health->Fetch as Google. That will show you how a search engine sees your widgetized home page.

Remember that sites don't rank for keywords, pages do. If your home page is widgetized and those widgets automatically pull in different content (as opposed to using a text widget that always displays the same content), the content of your home page will change, and that might impact how effectively your home page can rank for keywords. Therefore, if you use widgets that automatically pull content, you have to keep your home page content in mind when you manage those widget settings.

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[elenabrz]

@flamenco no expert at all in SEO, however due to my field of work, I have to collaborate with many SEO agencies and consultants...and frankly speaking: SEO is the opposite to exact science for you might get different tips and guidelines from each of them...:) Por cierto, vivo en Valencia, un poco lejos de Andalucía pero me gusta la guitarra flamenca 😉

@billmurray thanks a lot for your explanation (by 'developer' I meant the guy who developed the theme I purchased, not from studiopress)

 

[David Chu]

Elena,
Entendido... I do have enough SEO knowledge to do a decent job, but ultimately some of the more techie stuff they do makes me go to sleep. 🙂 Even though I know it's valuable in its way. Tal vez you can ask these SEO's what fields they need, and then a plan can be made.

When the Studiopress official themes have a "landing" or portfolio style homepage, tipicamente they have some special widgets only for the homepage, and then you can get any HTML you need in there. Because you have a theme made by someone else, no es cierto. De todos modos, it's pretty easy to make extra widgets with Genesis and put them anywhere you want.

Valencia! Excelente. Me pregunta si todos los valencianos hablan Valenciana y Castellano. 🙂

Dave

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Dave Chu · Custom WordPress Developer – likes collaborating with Designers

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